Well. I suppose it was necessary to think about, in any event. It's highly unlikely ever to be needed, one would hope, but given that Congress may well have been a target before, they probably should think about how it would be handled if an attack on Congress in session was successful.
Fearing that terrorists might target Congress, the House on Thursday approved a bill to set up speedy special elections if 100 or more of its members are killed. The House, in a 306-97 vote, put aside for now the larger issue of whether the Constitution should be amended to allow for temporary appointments in the event that an attack caused mass fatalities among lawmakers. The House, said Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., sponsor of the elections bill and a foe of appointments, "is rooted in democratic principles and those principles must be preserved at all costs."
I suppose the difference in how replacements are currently handled must come from the differences in the length of the term. States are already allowed to appoint acting senators to serve until the next regularly scheduled election, or to call for a special election for the purpose of choosing replacements should a senator die in office.
Posted by iain at April 22, 2004 04:47 PM
